Historically, information processing systems, such as servers include a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuits or circuit boards applying to different bus specifications. However, in such information processing systems, applying to different bus specifications there are sometimes difficulties reloading information from a first bus specification to information to a second bus specification that is different from the first bus specification.
A System on Chip (SoC) specification including an Advanced eXtensible Interface (AXI®), may implement an exclusive access or exclusive control of access to memory of the SoC in order to coordinate the secure communication of data between a processor and other modules within the chip allowing for the efficient use of a common resource in an Operating System (OS)®.
When executing an OS using an SoC including a plurality of Central Processing Units (CPUs) or assigning different OSs to a common CPU resource, it may be necessary to implement an exclusive control beyond a semiconductor integrated circuit (also hereinafter referred to interchangeably herein as a “chip”). However, even when an exclusive access control beyond such a chip is necessary, a transfer function of the exclusive access control may not be provided between chips applying to different bus specifications.
AXI®, which may be included in an advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA®, made by Arm Holdings Ltd located in Cambridge, England) is a general term for an on-chip interconnect specification, which may be used together with an Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB® made by Arm Holding Ltd located in Cambridge, England), for example. Further, for example, an Open Core Protocol (OCP®), a Processor InterFace (PIF®), etc., may provide other known specifications for such applications other than AMBA®.
As described above, among chips having different bus specifications, an exclusive control function may not have been previously provided. For example, a transfer function of an exclusive control may not have been previously provided between a semiconductor integrated circuit including a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe®)
Such lack of a transfer function for exclusive control may exist between semiconductor integrated circuits, circuit boards or the like, including for different bus specifications, similarly to as may occur among semiconductor integrated circuits, circuit boards or the like to which various other bus specifications may be applied.
Aspects of the present invention are not limited to situations such as an exclusive control transfer between a PCIe® specification and an AXI® specification, but also may apply, for example, to an exclusive control transfer among semiconductor integrated circuits, circuit boards or the like, including for differing bus specifications. Specifically, aspects of the present Invention may potentially be applied to an exclusive control transfer among a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like, including a PCIe®, and a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like, including an AMBA®, such as an AXI®, an AHB®, and an APB®, or a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like, including an OCP® or a PIF®.
Incidentally, in the prior art, for example, various techniques have been proposed for an exclusive control in a multiprocessor system. See for example: Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H06(1994)-110844; and Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H08(1996)161228.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H06(1994)-110844
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H08(1996)-161228